For every wrong choice or bad decision we make, God gives us the opportunity to make the right choice or a good decision.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
Once we are able to see life through the lens of truth, we disable one of Satan’s chief methods of attack. When Satan is no longer able to deceive us, he turns to his weapon of temptation. If deception doesn’t work, Satan does not give up. He goes to plan-B, temptation.
One of Satan’s favorite methods of attack is temptation. But God has promised that we can have victory over temptation.
James 1:13-15 says, “13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
According to this passage of scripture, we have two enemies we must overcome. The first is Satan, and the second is our sinful nature. Temptation appeals to our evil desires as it tries to persuade us into wrongdoing by offering us some kind of pleasure or reward. Then, as we continue to imagine or think about the immediate pleasure or reward of our evil action, sin is conceived in our soul. Once sin is conceived, just like a baby in a mother’s womb, it will eventually grow to full term and have to be birthed. Then, after our evil desires are birthed or acted upon, they grow up and become the regular part of our behavior. Eventually, falling into temptation will lead us to death.
Anytime we fall into temptation, our hearts become hardened and our consciences become seared. With hard hearts and seared consciences, we are able to sin without any regret or remorse. The more we sin, the more we allow Satan to work his destructive agenda through our lives. For example, when we feed the evil desire of lust it leads to such sins as adultery, pedophilia and homosexuality. When we feed the evil desire of anger it leads to the sin of murder. When we feed the evil desire of greed it leads to living beyond our means (debt), jealousy and discontent.
God was given us the weapon of righteousness to combat temptation. The way we overcome temptation is by choosing to live a morally right, virtuous and law-abiding life. Righteousness is like a breastplate that guards our most vital organ—the heart.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place. Ephesians 6:14
2 comments:
This is some good stuff P. Ron!
I'm so glad that you posted this P. Ron. I think many times people forget or simply don't realize that they themselves are their own biggest enemy.
It can be easy to point the finger as if to say "the devil made me do it". But in reality most if not all activity of the devil is merely to fuel what is already there in our own heart's prior inclination toward sin.
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